A Malian jihadist Monday confessed to ordering the 2012 attacks on the fabled city of Timbuktu, becoming the first person to plead guilty at the world's only permanent war crimes court.

"Your honour, regrettably I have to say that what I heard so far is accurate and reflects the events. I plead guilty," Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi told the International Criminal Court after the solo charge of cultural destruction was read to him.